Players who subscribe to Switch Online know that the service comes with a wide variety of retro games from past Nintendo consoles such as the NES and SNES. But those subscribers can unlock access to additional hardware libraries, including Sega’s beloved Genesis, by spending more for the Expansion Pass. Even so, only some of its best titles have made it onto Nintendo’s service, leaving a substantial gap in an otherwise extensive catalog. Here are 10 essential Genesis games still missing from Switch Online, which we hope will make an appearance there soon.
The Sega Genesis produced one of the most celebrated libraries in gaming history, yet Nintendo’s retro subscription service has only scratched the surface of what it offers. From gross-out comedies to sprawling underwater adventures and ambitious fighting games, these are titles that defined a generation of players but remain entirely absent from Switch Online today.
A Comic Hero With an Unconventional Arsenal
Released on Nov. 18, 1994, Boogerman: A Pick and Flick Adventure arrived during a brief period when Interplay was riding high on personality-driven game releases. The title featured a comic superhero type who subdues his enemies with burps, farts, and boogers. While the game relied heavily on gross-out humor, it also delivered competent platforming action alongside vividly drawn characters who sold the joke. Look past the crude comedy and you’ll find a solid experience spanning more than 20 levels, complete with puzzles and bosses.
Nintendo made Boogerman available on Virtual Console in 2008, but it hasn’t been seen since, leaving longtime fans hoping for a return to modern Nintendo hardware.
Racing Remakes That Slipped Through the Cracks
Championship Pro-Am, released in 1992, is an enhanced remake of R.C. Pro-Am, which found wide success as a NES franchise. It adds several nice touches, including improved visuals and six cars racing at once instead of the usual four. Even with additional drivers on the track, a top-three finish remains necessary. The letters players collect no longer spell “Nintendo,” either, and player high scores are now saved—a feature absent from the NES original.
Microsoft and Rare included the standard two versions of R.C. Pro-Am as part of 2015’s Rare Replay compilation, but Championship Pro-Am didn’t make the cut. Some retro fans who might enjoy it don’t even realize it exists, and Switch Online could fix that oversight.
Underwater Adventures Await
Ecco: The Tides of Time, released Aug. 25, 1994, is the second game in the Ecco the Dolphin series. It keeps the story from the first game going while making the sort of additions one would expect from a sequel. A new power-up called Pulsar lets Ecco unleash sonar attacks, joined by Metasphere, which allows Ecco to change into a different animal. The game also features scavenger hunts that encourage players to explore the far corners of each sprawling stage.
Although it’s sometimes a little too easy to get lost in the environments, fans of the brave dolphin are unlikely to mind and would surely welcome more underwater adventures on Switch Online. With a remaster on the way, maybe right now is even the perfect time for its return.
Arcade Shooters Lost to Time
Forgotten Worlds, released Nov. 17, 1989, was originally made by Capcom as an arcade shooter featuring nine stages. The Genesis port, handled by Sega, lost two of those stages but added long-range weapons to make up for them, along with a convenient auto-fire feature. The control scheme also received tweaks; the A and C buttons now let players rotate to face enemies approaching from the left or right.
The Genesis version arrived on Virtual Console in 2008, but after the Wii Shop Channel shuttered in 2019, you won’t find that version available to experience on Nintendo hardware now unless you have an old Wii kicking around.
Strategy and Brawlers Deserve a Second Chance
Developed by Game Refuge, General Chaos was exclusive to the Genesis platform. Perhaps the best Genesis strategy title that isn’t the tragically forgotten Shining Force 2, it pits two armies against each other across 50 different battlefields. In a surprising but welcome twist, it also allows head-to-head and cooperative play for up to four players. Action is viewed from an isometric perspective, letting players enjoy the carnage as cartoon characters attack with guns, rocket launchers, grenades, flamethrowers, and blasters.
Fans at the time remember the game fondly, but it hasn’t made any recent appearances and is due for a comeback. Similarly developed by Now Production for Namco, Splatterhouse 2 released Aug. 4, 1992 as a brawler following up the 1988 arcade original. Hero Rick ventures into a hidden house to save his girlfriend through eight new stages, relying on fists, feet, and an assortment of weapons. The English version features a password save system, and it also appeared on the Genesis Mini 2, suggesting interest remains fairly high—yet Switch Online has had to do without it.
Tech Demos That Showcased Hardware
Ranger-X, released May 27, 1993 and developed by Gau Entertainment (which eventually became Nex Entertainment), is one of those games that made people want to buy hardware. It featured gorgeous environments among the finest the Genesis library ever offered, though it was designed to utilize a 6-button controller that didn’t come standard with most Genesis consoles. Players control the heroic Ranger X as he pilots an exoskeleton battling Rahuna forces seeking to enslave his people. His pack allows brief periods of flight but overheats if relied upon too heavily.
An assortment of weapons capable of firing in numerous directions results in an unconventional, dynamic experience fans remember to this day. They would surely love to enjoy it again as part of the Switch Online lineup.
Racing Oddities and Fighting Games
Super Skidmarks, released in 1995, was a racing game developed by Acid Software for the Amiga. Codemasters published a Genesis version that never left Europe, including an adapter to allow six-player action as wheeled cows and other miniature vehicles zipped around detailed tracks. It’s an odd little game, second in a short-lived series that wound down in 1998 with Ultimate Super Skidmarks. An appearance on Switch Online would let players young and old discover the joy of racing cows.
In the fighting genre, ClayFighter released Dec. 1994 when Interplay settled on clay as its unique angle to compete against Street Fighter 2 and Mortal Kombat. The characters include a menacing snowman who became the franchise mascot, an Elvis impersonator, a pumpkin-headed scarecrow, and a circus strongman. The ambitious Genesis port played best with a six-button controller and marked the last time the series appeared on Sega hardware. All games in the series have made appearances on Nintendo platforms, including a Virtual Console release for the Genesis version.
Looking Ahead
These 10 titles represent just a fraction of what the Sega Genesis library has to offer, and their absence from Switch Online leaves plenty of room for improvement. Whether through future Expansion Pass additions or dedicated re-releases, fans continue to hope these beloved games find their way back onto modern Nintendo hardware—giving new generations the chance to experience the magic that made the Genesis such an enduring platform.
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